The Prince George Spruce Kings are venturing to the outer limits of the B.C. Hockey League road map this weekend for a tough three-game, three-day visit with Interior Division teams, all of which sport winning records.
Tonight in Trail, the Spruce Kings put their Mainland Division-leading 10-6-0-2 record on the line against the Smoke Eaters (8-7-0-0), who rank fourth in the Interior.
The Smoke Eaters are 6-5-0 in their last 11 games and are trying to snap a two-game losing streak after getting dumped 6-2 Saturday in Penticton and 4-1 Wednesday in Vernon. In their only other meeting with Trail this season, Oct. 25 at the Coliseum, the Spruce Kings skated to a 4-1 victory.
The Spruce Kings, who went 7-4-0 in October, are coming off a 5-2 loss Oct. 30 in Langley. The Kings also play Saturday night in Merritt (7:30 p.m. start) and Sunday afternoon in West Kelowna (2:30 p.m. start) before heading home. The second-place West Kelowna Warriors (10-5-2-0) play tonight in Merritt against the third-place Centennials ((9-8-0-0). After this weekend, the Kings will play seven of their remaining eight games in November at the Coliseum.
The Smoke Eaters announced this week that defenceman Viktor Dombrovskiy, 18, has signed a letter of commitment to join Harvard University next season. Dombrovskiy is Trail's leading-scoring defenceman with two goals and 13 assists in his first season with Trail after being traded from Langley in the off-season.
The brings the total of NCAA-committed players on the Trail roster to eight, equal to that of the Vernon Vipers and Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Only the Penticton Vees, with 12 college-bound players, have more.
The Spruce Kings have five players listed with NCAA teams including forwards Just Rai (Maine), Chad Staley (Alaska-Fairbanks) and Jeremiah Luedtke (Alaska-Anchorage), goalie Jesse Jenks (Alaska-Fairbanks) and defenceman Karan Toor (Dartmouth). Toor is still out with a groin injury and has yet to okay this season.
Rai ranks fifth in BCHL scoring with 11 goals and 24 points in 18 games, while Luedtke is 10th in the league with 23 points, two points ahead of his linemate Staley. Prince George minor hockey product Liam Blackburn leads the scoring race with 33 points in 17 games. Blackburn, 18, has signed to play next year for the University of New Hampshire.
